What is the problem or issue? · Conventional public school districts often view charter schools as a threat but time has shown that these new schools can serve a valuable teaching role. · Increasingly, members of the traditional public school system are turning to charter schools for examples of “best-practices” regarding everything from curriculum to staffing and teacher retention. · Charter schools are public schools. When a child leaves for a charter school the money follows that child. This benefits the public school system by instilling a sense of accountability into the system regarding its services to the student and parents and its fiscal obligations.
Why is this issue important? · Charter schools are one of the fastest and most successful growing reforms in the country. · Charter schools are new, innovative public schools that are accountable for student results. · They are designed to deliver programs tailored to educational excellence and the needs of the communities they serve.
What is the historical roots of this problem? What has been tried in the past? · The first charter school opened its doors in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1992 and now, almost two decades later, more than 5,000 charter schools are serving over 1.5 million children across 39 states and the District of Columbia.
-With this growth has also come a contentious debate about the effects of the schools on their own students and on students in nearby traditional public schools.
-In recent years, research has begun to inform this debate, but many of the key outcomes have not been adequately examined, or have been examined in only a few states. Do the conflicting conclusions of different studies reflect real differences in effects driven by variation in charter laws and policies? Or do they reflect differences in research approaches--some of which may be biased?
What are the current approaches? · Before you can have charter schools, you must have a state law. Forty states and the District of Columbia have enacted charter school laws. (The ten states that do not have charter school laws are Alabama, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington and West Virginia.) · Charter schools are born at the state level. Typically a group of concerned lawmakers drafts a bill that allows the creation of any number of charter schools throughout a state. · The content of the charter law plays a large role in the relative success or failure of the charter schools that open within that state. · Charter schools are public schools. Like district public schools, they are funded according to enrollment, and receive funding from the district and the state according to the number of students attending. · The length of time for which charters are granted varies, but most are granted for 3-5 years. At the end of the term, the entity granting the charter may renew the school's contract. Charter schools are accountable to their sponsor-- usually a state or local school board-- to produce positive academic results and adhere to the charter contract.
How does this problem/issue relate to RI schools? Is there evidence of a connection to the schools/districts/communities that we researched earlier? · Compared to students in the nearest regular public school, charter students are 4 percent more likely to be proficient in reading and 2 percent more likely to be proficient in math, on their state’s exam. · Compared to students in the nearest regular public school with a similar racial composition, charter students are 5 percent more likely to be proficient in reading and 3 percent more likely to be proficient in math. · Funding for RI:100 percent of state and school district operations funding follows students, based on average school district per-pupil revenue minus 5 percent of the state share, which the school district retains for administration and impact. Charter school and school district negotiate cost of services that the charter school wants the school district to provide.
-While the debate between charter and public school programs continues to gain controversial attention, President Obama has declared his strong support for charter school investments. In fact, President Obama has even allocated a large sum of stimulus money towards the enhancement of charter schools across the country. What are your views, opinions, concerns, or solutions related to the problem? · I think that charter schools are a great idea as a source of public education. · They provide a system of accountability for their results. · Charter schools create their own governments and philosophy of learning; what they believe to be the essentials to learning may be more beneficial than the state’s.
Ron Zimmer et al., Charter Schools in Eight States: Effects on Achievement, Attainment, Integration, and Competition (RAND Corporation. P.O. Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138. Tel: 877-584-8642; Tel: 310-451-7002; Fax: 412-802-4981; e-mail: order@rand.org; Web site: http://www.rand.org, 2009).
Rose M. Marsh, Alison A. Carr-Chellman, and Beth R. Sockman, “Selecting Silicon: Why Parents Choose Cybercharter Schools,” TechTrends: Linking Research and Practice to Improve Learning 53, no. 4 (July 0, 2009): 32-36.
· Conventional public school districts often view charter schools as a threat but time has shown that these new schools can serve a valuable teaching role.
· Increasingly, members of the traditional public school system are turning to charter schools for examples of “best-practices” regarding everything from curriculum to staffing and teacher retention.
· Charter schools are public schools. When a child leaves for a charter school the money follows that child. This benefits the public school system by instilling a sense of accountability into the system regarding its services to the student and parents and its fiscal obligations.
Why is this issue important?
· Charter schools are one of the fastest and most successful growing reforms in the country.
· Charter schools are new, innovative public schools that are accountable for student results.
· They are designed to deliver programs tailored to educational excellence and the needs of the communities they serve.
What is the historical roots of this problem? What has been tried in the past?
· The first charter school opened its doors in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1992 and now, almost two decades later, more than 5,000 charter schools are serving over 1.5 million children across 39 states and the District of Columbia.
-With this growth has also come a contentious debate about the effects of the schools on their own students and on students in nearby traditional public schools.
-In recent years, research has begun to inform this debate, but many of the key outcomes have not been adequately examined, or have been examined in only a few states. Do the conflicting conclusions of different studies reflect real differences in effects driven by variation in charter laws and policies? Or do they reflect differences in research approaches--some of which may be biased?
What are the current approaches?
· Before you can have charter schools, you must have a state law. Forty states and the District of Columbia have enacted charter school laws. (The ten states that do not have charter school laws are Alabama, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington and West Virginia.)
· Charter schools are born at the state level. Typically a group of concerned lawmakers drafts a bill that allows the creation of any number of charter schools throughout a state.
· The content of the charter law plays a large role in the relative success or failure of the charter schools that open within that state.
· Charter schools are public schools. Like district public schools, they are funded according to enrollment, and receive funding from the district and the state according to the number of students attending.
· The length of time for which charters are granted varies, but most are granted for 3-5 years. At the end of the term, the entity granting the charter may renew the school's contract. Charter schools are accountable to their sponsor-- usually a state or local school board-- to produce positive academic results and adhere to the charter contract.
How does this problem/issue relate to RI schools? Is there evidence of a connection to the schools/districts/communities that we researched earlier?
· Compared to students in the nearest regular public school, charter students are 4 percent more likely to be proficient in reading and 2 percent more likely to be proficient in math, on their state’s exam.
· Compared to students in the nearest regular public school with a similar racial composition, charter students are 5 percent more likely to be proficient in reading and 3 percent more likely to be proficient in math.
· Funding for RI: 100 percent of state and school district operations funding follows students, based on average school district per-pupil revenue minus 5 percent of the state share, which the school district retains for administration and impact. Charter school and school district negotiate cost of services that the charter school wants the school district to provide.
-While the debate between charter and public school programs continues to gain controversial attention, President Obama has declared his strong support for charter school investments. In fact, President Obama has even allocated a large sum of stimulus money towards the enhancement of charter schools across the country.
What are your views, opinions, concerns, or solutions related to the problem?
· I think that charter schools are a great idea as a source of public education.
· They provide a system of accountability for their results.
· Charter schools create their own governments and philosophy of learning; what they believe to be the essentials to learning may be more beneficial than the state’s.